Dean was pretty sure something was up with Sam.

He had tried not to think about it, because at first, he had been too relieved to see Sam again that it hadn't mattered. Nothing ever mattered but keeping their family together. Nothing but keeping Sam safe. That had been his whole purpose in life, and he'd failed at it.

And Sam was back. He had a second chance. He wasn't going to examine the teeth of that particular gift horse.

But maybe it was time for a dental visit.

It had started as a feeling, but lately, watching the way Sam hunted. . . .

Well, he had questions. A lot of them. And he didn't think Sam had the answers, either. Or if he did, he certainly wasn't going to tell Dean.

Dean had every intention of grilling his brother now that they were out in the woods on their own, too. It was the perfect opportunity: no one else was around, and there was always the excuse of the hunt if the grilling got too intense and they needed some excuse to pivot to another topic of conversation. The only thing left to do was decide which of the many burning questions on his mind he wanted to lead with.

But then, he'd heard the unmistakable sound of the TARDIS, echoing through the trees, and he broke into a grin and turned toward Sam.

Who had no reaction to the sound at all.

Dean narrowed his eyes at that. But then, this was the perfect opportunity. After all, he knew from experience that the Doctor had some kind of telepathic… something. Maybe he could get Sam looked at without having to actually grill his brother. Maybe he could avoid the dentist himself and make the Doctor examine Sam's proverbial teeth.

"I'm going to look into that," he said, thumbing over his shoulder in the direction of the TARDIS. It had echoed, sure, but he was pretty sure he could track it down. It had sounded close.

Sam shrugged without looking his way. "We already know what we'll find there."

"And you don't think he'll help."

"I think he'll catch up to us."

"He's not a hunter, Sam."

"If you want to go looking for him, no one's stopping you," Sam said, crouching down to examine something on the ground. Dean frowned and came to join him, his expression falling when he realized that Sam had found blood. "We're close."

Dean clenched his jaw to keep from swearing out loud. "Yeah."

Sam didn't say anything other than to keep going down the trail, but Dean hesitated, looking between Sam's retreating back and the woods. He wanted Sam safe, so he needed to have his back during this hunt… but the larger problem was still going to be here even after they killed this rugaru. And if the Doctor didn't catch up to them and left before Dean could talk to him…

Maybe if he was fast, he could have Sam's back in both ways.

He nodded to himself and then took off at a sprint toward the sound of the TARDIS. If he couldn't find it in a reasonable amount of time, then he'd turn around—but he didn't want to walk away from a shot at understanding what was up with his brother.

He ran for a good five minutes before he came to a small creek and stopped, listening for any signs of otherworldly life. He could hear a few frogs and other wildlife—but that was also good to hear, because it meant that the monster they were hunting hadn't scared them off. He hadn't scared them off with his sprinting, either, though he'd scared off a few birds on the way.

He took a deep breath, held it, and let it out again. Maybe running full speed toward what was maybe the sound of the TARDIS wasn't the right call. It wasn't going to call out to him if he was headed the wrong way. He couldn't play Marco Polo with the thing.

Well, he couldn't play Marco Polo out loud.

With a smirk, he closed his eyes as the plan came to him, and he forced himself to breathe slower, listening not for the sound of animals but for something else. Something that he couldn't even say was audible, but he could feel it, ever since he'd connected to the TARDIS enough to fly it.

Marco, he thought, then wondered if that game even translated to the TARDIS.

He waited and waited and was about to turn back around to go have Sam's back when he heard, distinctly, the sound of the TARDIS dinging farther into the trees.

He was close.

He grinned and took off at a run again, vaulting over the creek and pushing through some close-set trees before he finally found the small clearing where the TARDIS had set down. It looked the same as it always did, though it did have a couple lizards climbing up its sides.

Dean grinned and ran up to the door to knock on it. "Hello?" he called out. "Is the Doctor home, or did he already leave?"

There was no answer—and he'd been loud enough that he was sure the Doctor would have heard him if he was close by. Still, he tried one more time: "Doc!"

When he didn't get an immediate answer, he shook his head and turned back to the TARDIS. "Thanks for helping me find you," he said and was surprised not to get a warm hum in response.

He raised both eyebrows and stepped back. "You okay?"

No response.

Dean looked around but couldn't see any clues to the TARDIS's bad mood. Frowning, he stepped toward the console and ran his hands over the edge of it. "Hey, whatever I did to you, I'm sorry about it. I'm sure I felt bad about it. I don't actually know when you last saw me."

This time, he did get a reassuring ding, though it sounded almost reluctant.

Dean sighed and leaned against the console. "Wait, were you offended I didn't say hi to you before I yelled for the Doctor?" he asked—and then tried not to laugh when the TARDIS dinged back at him. "Come on, you know you're my favorite. The Doc's not nearly as cool as you are."

This time, the TARDIS didn't make a noise so much as it filled his emotions with warmth. It was a strange telepathic experience, sure, but it was the only way she could communicate. And it was nice to be back on speaking terms with her, so to speak.

"Okay, but I do actually need to find the Doctor," Dean said and once again tried not to laugh when the warmth immediately receded. "Seriously, something's wrong with Sam."

The TARDIS opened its doors—but it also turned a video screen on, whipping it toward Dean to show a recording of the direction the Doctor had gone in.

"You're the best," Dean said and even playfully blew a kiss toward the console, grinning when he got a rush of warmth in response.

At least the TARDIS hadn't changed.